Hollow Queen Reborn
by musicinme57
Summary: Spoilers! Set after s05 ep09! Gwen realizes that Arthur never would have survived this long without some help. (Because, Merlin just needs some credit!) :) Please be kind, this is my first FanFic! :) No Reveal!(as such) No Slash!
1. Chapter 1

"Are you sure you're up to this, Guinevere?"

"Yes, Arthur, I want our friends to know why I've been acting so strangely since I was... captured," Guinevere managed with only a slight shudder.

As the pair walked toward the meeting of the original members of the round table that they had called the day after returning from the lake where that strangely familiar sorceress had cured Gwen, Arthur could not shake the worry eating away at him.

"Should you not wait until you have fully rested before we try to explain what happened?"

Gwen smiled as her heart filled with warmth at the concern in Arthur's voice. "I have gotten the best night's sleep I have had in a long while, and, honestly I just want to put this whole matter behind me as quickly as possible."

"Of course," Arthur relaxed slightly at the smile on his Queen's face.

They entered the meeting room to find everyone else ready and waiting for them. As Arthur looked around the room at the faces of the people he trusted most in the world, he felt sure that Guinevere was right, they deserved to know.

Arthur stood at Guinevere's side as she took in a deep breath and made her confession, "Since returning from my captivity, I have been under Morgana's control."

Gasps were heard from most of the mouths in the room at this blunt admission.

"Arthur and I have recently returned from a quest to ensure my release from her spell. I wished to tell you, our most trusted friends and advisors, that my odd behavior of late has been a result of that enchantment. "

"I hope that you can accept what has happened and that you will, in time learn to trust me again."

"I do already," stated Arthur as he squeezed her hand reassuringly. The knights all made similar statements in turn.

She smiled and breathed a sigh of relief, and as she looked around the room she saw nothing but happiness for her in the smiles of her friends.

Then her eyes locked on the smiling face of perhaps her best friend in all the world, Merlin. At seeing him, a wave of memories rushed over her.

"Thank you all for standing by me through this trying time. While we are gathered here I would also like to publicly thank the one man who has fearlessly stood between Morgana and her plans to kill Arthur for these past years."

Arthur glanced at his wife in confusion, he had no idea what she meant.

"While I was with Morgana, she told me of her life since she was driven from Camelot, and her many plans to bring about Arthur's destruction. A common thread running through many of her stories, was one man who always stood against her, no matter the threat, no matter the cost."

Arthur looked at the faces of each of his knights in turn as they turned to look at each other, all wondering of whom Gwen spoke.

"Morgana referred to him as a thorn in her side and an irritant, the one man who has ruined more of her plans than any other."

Gwen smiled at the dawning realization on Merlin's face.

"Morgana told me of her many attempts to kill him, to no avail."

At this, Arthur and the rest of the knights turned questioning eyes to Leon, who always seemed to be escaping death. Leon, however was as confused as the rest of them, and they turned back to Gwen.

"I even aided her plan to kill him while I was under her power. She lured him into the woods and poisoned him so that he would die in the most painful way possible."

Gwen paused, overcome by guilt at the part she had played in Morgana's schemes.

Arthur turned to her and asked, "One man has endured all this in silence, with no reward or gratitude?"

Gwen smiled softly and nodded.

"Who?" Arthur demanded, determined that he be rewarded.

Gwen beamed at the manservant who stood tall at the back of the assembled knights, his face beaming the pride that, until now, had been hidden to keep his secrets.

Gwen lifted her arm and declared, "Merlin!"


	2. Chapter 2

**WOW! first of all, thank you everyone for your lovely reviews and favorites :) I can't believe the amazing response this has gotten in so little time! I was going to leave this story as a one-shot, but now I think I will try and add more chapters! So, on with the story! ;)**

**- Chapter 2 - **

"Merlin."

"THAT Merlin?" Arthur asked, staring at his wife.

Gwen finally broke eye contact with the man in question to give her husband a reassuring smile and nod.

Arthur sighed, "I knew we should have waited until you were fully recovered to have this conversation."

"Arthur Pendragon! My actions may have been controlled by Morgana, but I fully recall what she said," Gwen stated indignantly.

"Perhaps that was all part of her plan to trick you, my lady," Leon suggested, ever the peacekeeper.

Gwen looked into the faces of her friends, filled with disbelief and... was that pity? Gwen indignantly sought Merlin's gaze and found that the manservant wore a resigned, albeit annoyed, look on his face.

_Well, Merlin may be used to being disbelieved, but I most certainly am __not__!_ Thought Gwen as she tried to control her temper at being patronized.

Gwen took a deep breath, unclenched her fists, squared her shoulders, looked her beloved husband straight in the eye, and calmly stated, "you... are being... a prat."

Gwen thought she heard a surprised half-laugh emanating from the back of the room as she watched Arthur's face. His look of shock was easily the funniest thing she had seen in quite some time, but, as laughing hysterically would not help her case at this point, she bit the inside of her cheek and refused to even chuckle.

"She has a point there, Princess," Gwaine chuckled, his usual cheerful grin belied by a new seriousness in his eyes.

Arthur and the other knights turned their already open-mouthed stares toward this new absurdity.

"If you would stop teasing Merlin long enough to actually think about all he has done for you, maybe this wouldn't be so hard to believe," Gwaine stated with a smirk.

Arthur scowled at Gwaine, about to protest, when a voice stopped him before he could start.

"We kid Merlin and play jokes on him all the time. However, we have all seen the lengths to which he will go to protect you, Sire," said Percival, the most observant of them all.

Arthur blinked after listening to his most quiet knight state his opinion and slowly turned to seek Merlin's face in the crowd. As he met his manservant's serious eyes he let himself remember all those passed occurrences he usually preferred to forget.

Merlin, drinking poison for him. Merlin, pushing Arthur out of the way and jumping in the path of the Dorocha. Merlin, killing the man who was a hairsbreadth from slaying Arthur in the caves as he tried to save Princess Mithian and her father. Merlin. Merlin. Merlin.

Arthur realized that, of all people, Merlin would be just the type to risk everything for his friends, for Arthur, and expect nothing in return.

Arthur sobered and turned back to the waiting gaze of his wife. "Perhaps you should tell us what happened."

Gwen took a deep breath and began her tale. "The boy who saved your life from the assassin during Sarrum's visit, Daegal, was originally sent here by Morgana to lure Merlin to the woods. There, she attacked Merlin, poisoned him, threw him off a cliff, and left him to suffer and die alone."

Tears rushed to Gwen's eyes as she remembered her earlier conversation with Gaius.

_"It's all my fault!" Gwen sobbed and clung to the Physician once she had been told what Merlin really went through on that dark day._

_"Now, now, my lady, you were not in control of your own actions." Gaius rubbed her back soothingly. "The only one to blame in all of this is Morgana, she has made her choices, and one day she will suffer the consequences."_

_Gwen pulled away and fixed Gaius with a resolute stare. "You are right, the people of Camelot will not soon forget her terrible deeds; and I intend to make sure that the people closest to him will not forget Merlin's deeds, either."_

As Gwen finished her story, she could see the gears turning in Arthur's mind as he remembered and pieced together some of the events of that time frame.

Arthur turned to see Merlin, standing straight-backed, with a guarded look on his face as he tried not to relive that particular time, with all its pain and fear.

"How did you survive?" Arthur asked, with no small measure of wonder.

Merlin cleared his throat, and spoke for the first time that evening. "Daegal... Daegal felt guilty for tricking me and returned to see if he could help. Luckily, I had mixed the antidote for Gaius once before and was able to tell Daegal what herbs to gather."

"He saved your life as well," Arthur mused.

"We returned as quickly as possible to thwart the assassination, and Daegal died protecting you," Merlin stated, keeping his secret, while still giving Daegal the credit he deserved.

Arthur stared at Merlin, trying to read his face, as he quietly asked, "This poison. How close did it actually come to doing its work?" Arthur's tone made it clear that this was no time for Merlin's usual evasive answers and half-truths.

Merlin had to force himself not to squirm as Arthur's intense stare and the painful memory combined to make him increasingly uncomfortable. Nevertheless, Merlin stared Arthur resolutely in the eye as he stated, "Very."

Surprise and concern briefly flickered over the king's face as he read how grave the encounter truly was in his friend's eyes.

Taking in a breath, the King spun away. "So you lied to me, then."

Merlin jumped slightly at the sudden change in Arthur. "What..."

Arthur turned back to his friend with a twinkle in his eye. "I knew it."

"Knew what?" Merlin asked, thoroughly confused.

Arthur grinned and proudly crowed, "I knew you weren't off seeing a girl!"

**Because you know that if Arthur couldn't find the humor in these situations, the knowledge that his friends and loved ones risk death for him on a daily basis would be enough to drive him mad.**

**Well, what do we think? Good? Bad? Indifferent? Should I continue? Please, let me know :)**


	3. Chapter 3

** - Chapter 3 - **

**Thank you again to everyone who has been so encouraging to me. This chapter was incredibly difficult to write and I have decided that this will be an end to this story. I believe I have taken it as far as it will go. That's right, this one is complete. :)**

Merlin rolled his eyes skyward, and chuckled softly at his friend's antics. The accusation, while untrue and a bit mean-spirited, had served its purpose; everyone in the room seemed to breathe a little easier at this slight step back toward normalcy.

Well, everyone except a rather annoyed-looking Queen.

As the knights had a brief chuckle at Merlin's expense, Gwaine sobered as he truly had time to process what his loyal friend had been through.

Setting aside his amusement, he turned to the Queen. "I still don't understand, though. Why would Morgana want to kill Merlin, of all people?"

Gwen looked thoughtful. "Arthur, when did Merlin tell you that he suspected I was in league with Morgana?"

"The day before we left for the lake," Arthur replied, not seeing what that had to do with anything.

Gwen once more turned her attention to the man in question. "And Merlin, when did you first suspect I was working against Arthur?"

"After Arthur was poisoned and you threw me in the dungeons, my lady," Merlin admitted.

Arthur turned shocked eyes toward Merlin, "That long ago? Why didn't you tell me?"

Merlin cocked an eyebrow and sarcastically stated, "Yes, because that always works."

As Arthur merely continued to stare uncomprehendingly at his manservant, Merlin sighed and elaborated, "Remember Agravaine?"

A light dawned in Arthur's head, "You tried to warn me about him long before he revealed that he was working for Morgana."

Gwen added, "Agravaine complained to Morgana more than once that their plans were ruined because Merlin watched him too vigilantly."

Gwen watched as her husband digested this piece of information while Merlin looked on with a sense of satisfaction as Arthur realized that Merlin had been right all along.

When Gwen was sure that Arthur had processed this last revelation fully, she continued, "And I don't even know the full story behind all the times he thwarted Morgana's plans while she was still here in Camelot."

Arthur spun around, "What do you mean?" He turned back to Merlin, "You knew about Morgana, too? Why didn't you...never mind, I think we've covered this already."

Merlin took a little pity on Arthur when he saw his discouraged face. "I actually wanted to tell you about her, but, for once, I took your advice and exercised a little self-preservation."

"What do you mean, mate?" queried Gwaine, when Merlin's thoughtful silence became too long for the curious knight to bear.

Merlin snapped out of his memories and gave a rueful smile. "Well, let's just say that Morgana made it quite clear that I would not have much time to say goodbye to my head if I were to reveal her secret to anyone."

"She threatened you?" Arthur and the knights chorused in almost perfectly synchronized disbelief.

"Explicitly," Merlin stated, then thoughtfully added, "She can be quite menacing when she puts her mind to it."

"Well, apparently, you would know," huffed Arthur, still reeling from this day's previous revelations.

Gwen interjected, "Yet even with Morgana's threats hanging over him, Merlin released your father from the mandrake's curse, shattered her army of skeletons, and destroyed the immortal army that Morgause and Morgana had used to take over Camelot."

"WHAT?!" Arthur looked at his servant in all-out open-mouthed shock.

Merlin squirmed slightly, and shrugged, "Gaius and I discovered a weapon that could defeat them, so Lancelot and I fought our way to the throne room and knocked the cup of life from its pedestal."

"Why were YOU the one to take on this fight, Merlin? Surely I would be a better choice to fight my way into the castle."

"Well, sire, we were not sure it would work and I did not want to risk your life for nothing." Merlin winced, "Also, the weapon may have been slightly...enhanced...by magic. Long before then and not by an enemy of Camelot," Merlin rushed to add, stretching the truth just a bit.

Arthur turned away, his shoulders straightening as he once again took charge of the room. "Well, Merlin, I am afraid I cannot overlook your actions in this matter," Arthur stated, voice booming through the hall.

"We have heard your confession, and, as your king, I must pass judgment." Arthur turned slowly back to Merlin, who was cringing slightly expecting time in the stocks, if not the dungeon, for his use of a magical weapon.

"I, Arthur Pendragon, King of Camelot, do hereby sentence you to lighter household duties, one day off a week, and a feast held in your honor.

Merlin jerked, surprised and, as Merlin gazed at him in wonder, Arthur finally said the words that Merlin had been waiting for years to hear.

"Thank you"

**A HUGE thank you to my reviewer Mediatrix for providing the inspiration for this last chapter. And once again thank you ALL for being so supportive. I don't know when a plot bunny will pop into my head again, but I hope to see you all fairly soon. :)**

**Now, I must away to watch tonight's episode! :)**


End file.
